which wind generator?

[rudy]

I consider buying a windgenerator for (trickle) charging my 105 Ah domestic battery while anchoring overnight. I have something against the idea of blades swirling in the dark, so a vertical axis machine such as the Forgen seems safer. Any experience anybody?

rudy

 

[Talbot]

Trickle charge and forgen , as I understand it, the forgen will just about keep the maintenance charge going, but is unlikely to put much worthwhile additional charge into the battery. You are better off using a small solar panel (and its cheaper) or get a decent panel and get some worthwhile charge!

 

[fireball]

Solar panels work well overnight!

 

[ashanta]

I have used both, I have a Aerogen which I had on my last boat which was able to charge MAX to 1.5amphr(assuming sufficient wind). I have a Forgen on my current boat which charges to 1 amphr MAX(assuming sufficient wind). The Forgen has built in regulator the Aerogen requires one to prevent overcharging.
The aim is to allow the batteries to be charged when the boat is on the mooring when you are away. When on board at weekends I find my engine can recharge the batteries when I have run them down.
Regards.

Peter.

 

[Rohorn]

Hi...I've got panels and an Aerogen6 If you're only concerned about overnight charging, the it's got to be a windgenerator. To charge a 105 ah up fully might need a bit more than a trickle charge. Also if you are on board overnight, (you worry about the safety aspect at night) then noise is an important consideration. The Forgen doesn't produce much power, but if it is silent and you can sleep well, then it could be good.
My Aerogen 6 can produce some real power, but although it is quiet compared to some, it still puts the stress level up.
Let us know what you find out.
Cheers...R

 

[Talbot]

Yes solar panels do only charge during daylight, however, wind chargers only charge if there is any wind! My solar panel is rated at 720watt/hrs/day (roughly equivalent to 60 amphrs per day. A lot of wind chargers will struggle to achieve that, and the Forgen would take nearly 3 days to provide the same amount of power!

 

[fireball]

I should've put a /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif in my post! /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[VicMallows]

Rated in the Med in Summer? A pretty big panel (60w) anyway. The only time I run short of power is in the winter, and that's more to do with not leaving the batteries in a semi-discharged condition. Since on a mooring, that's why I will probably go for something like a Rutland 503.

Look forward to all comments on this thread.

Vic

 

[Anonymous]

I researched the market for several years and finally concluded that wind was not right for me, but in your case I think it is, and I agree that the Rutland 503 sounds like a good choice.

 

[Talbot]

[ QUOTE ]
Rated in the Med in Summer? A pretty big panel (60w) anyway. Vic

[/ QUOTE ]
actually rated at that in UK, but yes it is a pretty big panel - 180w. Fits very nicely between my dinghy davits. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[richardandtracy]

Make your own Savonus or Darian rotor. There a several free designs at http://www.picoturbine.com/projectlist.htm, including a 250W rotor which could be scaled down.

Regards

Richard.

 

[rudy]

looks like a good project when having time is no issue...I will take a look at the designs.
Regards,
Rudy

 

[rudy]

Inspired by the comments I have received I have taken another look at the Forgen brochure and indeed the power output as advertised is probably insufficient. The graphs show .25 A at force 4 for the 500 and .35 A for the 1000. A typical 10hr overnight input of some 3Ah would not solve my problem of running the battery down to the 50% charge level in two days when sailing with my solar panel typically charging some 1-1.5 A. So I may have to decide for an additional or bigger solar panel or a (noisier and viscious) blade machine, or running the engine just for charging the battery (why did I buy a sailboat all those years ago?), or a small genset (on a 33 footer?)....

Rudy